When Last time I wrote about Dean’s permalink migration plugin I didn’t realize some people will find it hard to use it. When we talk about WordPress SEO the basic thing is permalink. WordPress default permalink structure is ugly for SEO and it does not make any sense for search engine optimization.
Today I was working for a client wordpress SEO and she was using the default wordpress permalink which is no where close to SEO optimization. Well I had to change it to something better for SEO and without breaking a single post , else 404 errors will create a problem.
I think this tutorial will help you from migration your default wordpress permalink to search engine optimized wordpress permalink. If you have not written any post and if its a fresh installation of WordPress you need not need to follow this steps and you can directly change your wordpress permalink structure from settings >permalink under your dashboard.
For people who are using /category/post permalink, for them word of caution stop using two category for single post, you are creating post duplication issue. It’s better to stick to one category per post and use tags to structure your blog.
301 Migration of WordPress default permalink to SEO permalink
This is a simple step by step guide for newbie’s to change their default wordpress permalink structure to something meaning full and search engine friendly.
Step 1
Download Deans permalink migration plugin. Install and activate the plugin
step 2
Under Settings > Permalink migration Enter old blog permalink , I assume you using default permalink so you should put
/%post_id%
Click on update options.
Note: When you update permalink. Scroll down at the bottom of the page and you might see .htaccess code which you need to change in your .htaccess file. This is a mandatory step else you may start getting 404 errors. If you are not sure what you are doing, better hire us to change your permalink without 404 error.
Step 3
Now you need to enter new permalink structure and you can do it by going to Settings>permalink
I prefer using /%postname%.html permalink structure , you can take help of wordpress permalink tags to get something you like. IMO keep it short and simple , which make sense to search engines.
Once you changed the permalink , click on update.
Now check your posts and pages , if everything is normal you have done everything alright. If things goes wrong, you might need to crosscheck the permalink settings you entered in permalink migration settings.
If you find any problem or have any question regarding this or WordPress SEO. Feel free to get in touch with me.
Article by Harsh Agrawal
Harsh has written 945 articles.
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{ 23 comments… read them below or add one }
this plugin is working good
Thanks for Confirmation.
Hi there,
i did exactly as explained and yet im still getting a 404 error page not found. Activated the plugin, entered the old structure, updated to the new permalinks and still no effect, what could be the problem?
Hey Filip
Go to your Permalink settings and you will see few lines of codes at the bottom which you need to add into your .htaccess file. Hope this will help.
Nah, what helped was enabling the Mod_Rewrite in my Apache httpd config file, I am amazed that in all the tutorials on the web regarding this topic/plugin no one bothered to mentioned that detail. Thanks though:)
Hi Harsh!
thanks for this post ! You are a life saver!
A real thank you mate !
Hi Harsh!
I tried using this plugin and did as you mentioned above but still I am getting a 404 error…please help.
If you are using Platinum SEO, then this plugin is not required. I changed URLs in my blog and checked the Automatically do 301 direct options. Great information as it lets you know that the URL format can be changed without much trouble.
I’am having problems with getting plugin to work. Changed old permalinks to /%post_id% and custom structure to /%postname% and still get 404 error. Please help.
Robert have you updated your .htaccess file??
This is great guide! Thanks for sharing.
It doesn’t work for me either. I’ve been looking for a solution on the Internet for a while now and couldn’t find anything helpful so far. Most of the articles present it as just plug&play, but it looks like a lot of people get 404-error. I followed the instructions exactly and it still doesn’t work. Any suggestions are appreciated.
Has any of you, who was having problem got it to work? I’m having the same issue as Misha, I even went and modified the .htaccess file but still getting 404.
hey Cherry
if you click on my picture it will take you to my website. one of the most recent articles is about how I fixed this problem
i followed exact steps that u’ve mentions but not its giving 404 error on my page….how can i fix this problem please help
I changed to a custom structure, using Dean’s permalinks. It was working great for months. Then once it stopped working. Tech support at my server suggested going back to default, then back to custom. It worked. For months. Suddenly it has stopped again, all 404 errors. But trying to reset it doesn’t work. I am using a basic .htaccess file which has been working great for file name changes. I have way too many posts/pages etc. to modify them again. Just want the permalinks migration to work!
Any ideas? Any way to modify the .htaccess file?
Self-installed WordPress over one year ago.
good post and comprehensive info about setting permalink. Many one get benefited from the post. thanks for sharing.
Thanks Rizwan for dropping by and for your comment.
plugin is working fine thnks for sharing it i have also changed my permalinks structure
I changed my permalink structure and used Dean Permalink plugin. It works fine on the posts. But its giving me 404 error when I click on any of my categories. How can I fix this?
It should not affect your categories .. Though try to clear your cache and check…If not let me know and I will look into it ..
I was able to figure it out. The plugin causing the problem was Category Base Killer. But I disabled it and its working fine now.
Thanks for getting back to me.
Good to know that you have figured out the issue yourself. Welcome to ShoutMeLoud and hope you will enjoy our other articles too.